WORD and Mike Gallagher negotiated the debate in exchange for Westboro staying away from the funeral of Senior airman Nick Alden, from Williamston, S.C..

Alden was one of two U.S. military personnel shot and killed at a German airport more than two weeks ago.

According to multiple accounts of the shooting, a Muslim extremist opened fire on a bus of soldiers and airmen carrying Alden as retaliation for the war in Afghanistan.

Alden was a 25-year-old father of two who grew up in Williamston and went to Palmetto High School. His body was returned to the Upstate on Thursday.

Since his death, News 4 learned Westboro Baptist Church members were planning on protesting Alden's Saturday funeral. The church recently won a U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld its right to stage these highly controversial protests.

Church members have said they hold these protests because God is punishing America for tolerance of homosexuals.

In a statement from WORD, a spokesman said they "in no way endorse the views of Westboro, but felt it was worthwhile to make this deal to spare the Alden family the pain of having protesters at the funeral."

Shirley Phelps-Roper, with Westboro Baptist, was a guest on the Bob McLain Show.

Before the show, Bob McLain said "the tipping point of the decision was frankly the feelings of the (Alden) family."

Dr. Royce Short, Dean of the School of Religion at Bob Jones University, also came on the show to debate Phelps-Roper.

Phelps-Roper expressed her church's views during the debate.

"This is a judgement of God that is being executed," she said, referring to U.S. troop casualties. "He says 'by My judgements in front of your face, that's how you know who I am and what I think.' When he's killing your soldiers, it's time for you to say, 'Our policies aren't working.'"

Short said that the actions of Westboro Baptist Church were not an appropriate way to make people turn to God.

"God tells people they're sinners," Short said. "But at the same time He tells people they're helpless, He tells them there's hope because Jesus Christ died on the cross to save them."

At the end of Friday's broadcast, Phelps-Roper said Westboro Baptist agreed not to protest at Aldens funeral.

The group claims to have protested more than 43,000 funerals over 20 years and says this is only the 21st time they chose to trade the right to protest for radio time. Three of those times were for the funeral of five Amish girls slaughtered in a school house, the massacre at Virginia Tech and the shootings in Tuscon.